The BYU women’s basketball team is losing arguably its best player.
Shaylee Gonzales, the West Coast Conference player of the year, announced Friday that she has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal. Women’s basketball website The Next was first to report the news Thursday.
In a message on her social media platforms, Gonzales thanked her teammates and coaches for the previous four years on the Cougars.
“I am so thankful for all the relationships and memories that were made,” Gonzales wrote. “BYU will always have a place in my heart.”
Gonzales added at the end of the message that she “could not be more excited for the upcoming opportunities.”
Gonzales is the first player to leave the Cougars since the hiring of Amber Whiting as the team’s head coach. Whiting replaced longtime coach Jeff Judkins, who retired about a month after BYU lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Gonzales will be a coveted transfer around the country. She has two years of eligibility remaining and improved every season she was at BYU. She tore her ACL and still managed to return and have a breakout season in 2021-22.
Gonzales averaged 18.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.5 assist per game last season.
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